FEBRUARY 12, 2014

Red Bull making progress amid crisis according to Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo says Red Bull is confident the world champion team will overcome its technical crisis.

The new RB10 barely ran at the opening Jerez test recently amid packaging and Renault power unit issues.

Ahead of the second of three pre-season tests, set to begin in Bahrain next week, team driver Ricciardo said: "We're confident we'll run a bit smoother.

"But it's so complex this year, until we get laps under our belt we can't really be sure of anything," he is quoted by the Australian news agency AAP.

"I saw the car yesterday and they've made quite a bit of progress, so hopefully we'll get a few more laps and kickstart our season," Ricciardo added.

Williams driver Felipe Massa, who moved from Ferrari over the winter, said recently he would be "worried" if he was in Sebastian Vettel or Ricciardo's shoes.

He told reporters in Sao Paulo this week: "It is not a disaster, but it is a concern not to be able to test.

"But I think it is a problem with all the Renault cars," Massa added. "With such a small rear, in the case of the Red Bull, there may be overheating, but it's difficult to know."

Meanwhile, Ricciardo was asked by AAP about his new teammate, the reigning quadruple world champion Vettel, following the German's comments that he will not be helping the young Australian get up to speed in 2014.

"I'll pick things up naturally from him and learn the ins and outs of how he works," said the 24-year-old.

"Obviously he's not going to tell me how to drive around a corner -- we're all capable of that now."

Ricciardo was also asked about predecessor and countryman Mark Webber's latest comments, when the veteran Australian predicted he would match Vettel in qualifying this year.

"I won't say I'll come out and beat him -- because until I do that, I don't want to say anything. But of course I'd love to," Ricciardo smiled.

"Obviously we know the calibre of driver he is, so the first thing is I've got to learn from him, respect what he does and then try to match him."